Happy Birthday, Tracey Sketchit
by btamamura
Summary: It's Tracey's eighteenth birthday. What's the surprise Professor Oak has? Only he and Bakura know the answer.


Happy Birthday, Tracey Sketchit Yamitammy  
  
I don't own anything that belongs to somebody else  
  
It was a cool, crisp, winter day in Pallet Town. The Dodrio was crowing, waking Tracey and Bakura. Bakura sat up from his cot (portable camping bed) and yawned. "Good morning, Tracey." Tracey opened his eyes, but didn't sit up. "Good morning, Bakura. Did you sleep well?" Bakura nodded. "You seem tired, Tracey. Are you okay?" Tracey nodded. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I was just too excited to sleep." Bakura climbed out of bed. "Well, I'll let you sleep in and explain to Professor Oak about you sleeping in." "Okay. Thanks, Bakura."  
  
Bakura was sitting in the kitchen, wondering why Tracey was so excited that he couldn't sleep, until Professor Oak entered the room. "Good morning, Professor Oak," Bakura greeted. "Good morning, Bakura. Isn't Tracey up yet?" "No. He's still pretty tired. He didn't get much sleep last night because he was really excited about something. Professor, do you know what Tracey would be so excited about?" Professor Oak nodded. "Today is Tracey's birthday. Also, I have a surprise for him. I want you to keep this a secret from him and Delia." "Why do I need to keep it a secret from Mrs. Ketchum?" "Delia has a bit of a difficulty of keeping a secret a secret. Ash, Misty and Brock are returning from Johto today, so this will make it a pleasant surprise for Tracey." "Okay. I promise I won't tell Tracey or Mrs. Ketchum." "However, because Tracey is now eighteen, I'm going to hold a party for him. Later, I'll give Delia a call and just ask her to come to the lab, without explaining what's going on. Besides, I'm sure that she's aware that it's Tracey's birthday." "Should I pretend that I'm not aware that it's Tracey's birthday, or should I just keep the two surprises secret?" "Just keep the surprises quiet. Tracey would be very hurt if he thought that nobody remembered that it was his birthday." "Okay, Professor." Tracey entered the room. "Good morning, Professor. Good morning, Bakura." "Good morning, Tracey. Happy birthday," Professor Oak said. "Thank you, Professor." "Happy birthday, Tracey," Bakura stated. "Thanks, Bakura."  
  
After breakfast, Professor Oak turned to Tracey and Bakura. "After you two have fed the Pokemon, you can both have the rest of the day off." "Are you quite sure, Professor?" Tracey asked. "Of course I'm sure, Tracey. You can both have a day of fun in the snow." "Well, okay, Professor."  
  
The two boys had finished feeding the Pokemon. As they were heading to a clearing nearby to play in the snow, Ash's Bulbasaur ran after them. "Hi, Bulbasaur. Do you want to play in the snow with us?" Tracey asked. Bulbasaur nodded. "Hey, why don't we let our Marill join in as well?" Bakura suggested. "That's a great idea!" Tracey agreed. "Venonat and Scyther can join in too." He threw three Pokeballs, releasing his three Pokemon from the safe confines of their Pokeballs. "Happy birthday, Tracey!" all three exclaimed. Bakura threw a Pokeball. "Come on out, Marill!" Bakura's Marill appeared in a blaze of white light.  
  
While the friends were having a snowball fight, Bulbasaur tensed. He sniffed the air, picking up a familiar scent. He ran off into the direction of the lab. "Bulbasaur, where are you going?" Tracey called after it. 'They've returned,' Bakura thought to himself. "Hey, Tracey, maybe we should go after it," Bakura suggested. Tracey nodded. He turned to the Pokemon. "Come on, everybody!" Tracey, Bakura, the two Marill, Venonat and Scyther all ran after Bulbasaur.  
  
The friends had arrived back at the lab. Professor Oak stepped outside. "Oh, there you all are. Come on in out of the cold." The friends entered the lab. The lab was decorated with balloons, streamers and a large banner. "Is this for me?" Tracey asked as he looked around at the decorations. "It sure is, Tracey," a voice said. "Is that you, Ash?" Tracey asked. Ash, Misty, Brock and their Pokemon came out of their hiding spots. "Happy birthday, Tracey!" they all exclaimed. Tracey's eyes grew wide when he saw all of his friends there. "I can't believe it! I'm so glad that you're here, and especially today." "That's why we came back today. So we could be with you on your birthday," Misty stated. "Plus, it's definitely a special birthday for you. After all, you are eighteen now," Ash said. Tracey turned to Professor Oak. "Did you know that they'd be coming back today, Professor?" Professor Oak nodded. "I told Bakura this morning that they'd be returning, but they wanted it to be a surprise so Bakura didn't tell you or Delia." "I must say, it's definitely a pleasant surprise," a woman stated as she entered the lab. It was Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. She was accompanied by Mimie, her beloved Mr. Mime. She held a package in her hands. "Hello, Mrs. Ketchum," Tracey, Bakura, Misty and Brock greeted. "Hi, Mom," Ash greeted. "Hello, everybody. And Tracey, happy birthday." Delia handed him the package. "Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum." Tracey carefully removed the wrapping paper to reveal a box of pencils, perfect for sketching. "It seems that you can never have enough sketchbooks, so we all pitched in to buy you this," Ash said as he handed a parcel to Tracey. Tracey opened the parcel and smiled as he saw the new sketchbook. He opened it and read the message inside. "'To our good friend, Tracey. Happy eighteenth birthday. We wish you all the best for your future. From Ash, Misty, Brock and the Pokemon.' Thank you so much." Professor Oak handed Tracey a small parcel. Tracey opened it to reveal a small box. He opened the box and noticed an incredible watch. "Thank you very much, Professor." Bakura gave Tracey a small package as well. Tracey opened it and noticed a pair of key chains. They both had 'Best Friend' marked on them. Tracey handed one to Bakura. "Thank you, Bakura. I'd like you to have the other half." Bakura smiled. "Thanks, Tracey, but you know that you can give the other half to anyone." "I know, but I want you to have the other half. You're one of my very best friends and you and myself both have a special connection due to our pasts. Plus, you're like a brother to me, that's why I wish for you to have the other half." Bakura could feel tears well up in his eyes. "Oh, thanks, Tracey, I don't know what to say." Tracey smiled softly and handed Bakura a tissue so he could dab his eyes. "That was so sweet of you, Tracey," Misty said. "Sorry for asking, but what did Tracey mean when he said that you both have a special connection due to your pasts, Bakura?" Brock asked. "When I was younger, I didn't have any friends at school. When I was ten, my mother passed away. Then my little sister Amane died when I was fourteen. Not long after, my father went on a trip in Egypt. My father is an archaeologist. When he returned from Egypt, he gave me the Millennium Ring, which I'm wearing now. There's an evil spirit in the ring called Yami Bakura. He just enjoys torturing me. When I was in high school, I was transferred from my school in England to Domino City High in Japan. That's where I met Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristan. We weren't exactly good friends until we were on Duellists' Kingdom, where Yugi and Joey were entering a Duel Monsters tournament. Yugi was entering to save his grandfather after Pegasus stole Yugi's grandfather's soul. Joey's sister Serenity needed an eye operation or she'd go blind, so Joey entered the tournament to win the three million dollar cash prize. Yugi won the tournament so his grandfather was fine. Joey came second and because Yugi said that he could, he received the three million dollars needed. Serenity is doing fine now as well. Anyway, Yami Bakura sealed our souls in our favourite cards, making us become our favourite duel monsters. Yugi was the Dark Magician, Tristan was the Cyber Commander, Tea was the Magician Of Faith, Joey was the Flame Swordsman and I was the Change Of Heart. During the duel, Yami Bakura played the Man-eater Bug card so Yami Yugi, Yugi's spirit from the Millennium Puzzle, played a trap card. Joey was sacrificed, but after Tea shed some tears for Joey, Yami Yugi was able to play Reborn The Monster, which resurrects monsters. Joey returned. Yami Bakura was hoping to play Lady Of Faith and Change Of Heart. Change Of Heart can normally control any opponents' monster, making it attack its allies, but because my favourite card is Change Of Heart, I took control of Lady Of Faith, instead of taking control of Yugi like Yami Bakura anticipated. I ordered Yugi to attack me so they could win the duel. Yugi didn't want to but I told him I didn't care if I'd be destroyed, it was better than being enslaved by Yami Bakura. Yami Yugi replaced my soul in my body, causing Yami Bakura to be in my place on the field. Yugi attacked him and sent him to the graveyard, the discard pile in the game of Duel Monsters. We thought that was the end of Yami Bakura, but we were wrong. He returned to my body the night before the tournament. Just after the tournament finished, he stole Pegasus' Millennium Eye. So once again, I was nothing more to Yami Bakura than his slave." Bakura turned to Tracey. "Sorry about bringing up pain on your birthday, Trace." Tracey shook his head. "It's okay. It's best that everybody knew about it anyway, so if you needed help with it, we'd be able to help you. Now, let's party!" "Yeah!" Ash, Misty, Brock and Bakura all agreed. The party went on long into the night.  
  
Later on, Ash, Misty, Brock, Mrs. Ketchum and the Pokemon had returned to Ash's house. Tracey and Bakura were climbing into their beds. "Goodnight, Tracey. Happy birthday." "Thanks, Bakura. Goodnight," Tracey replied. Both boys slept peacefully that night, but why wouldn't they? They were both exhausted after all of the partying that went on all day. The End  
  
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